(207 min) Released 1939-01-27
Director: Clarence Brown
Stars: Norma Shearer, Clark Gable, Edward Arnold, Charles Coburn, Joseph Schildkraut, Burgess Meredith
Genres: Comedy | Drama | Musical | Romance
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031473/
This has no business being classified as a musical. Just because CG executes a few dance steps at the beginning (with a comic, then as a chorus boy) and at the middle of the movie (now with a burlesque chorus) doesn't mean the film is a musical. Oh, well, it's all subjective.
No way would I have selected CG as part of the male chorus we see. The boys next to him all have narrow faces; he looks like the exception on an IQ test. He also moves differently than the others. His "dance" steps are correct, but his gestures and body language are different. He's more of a star than a drone.
Burgess Meredith plays a young leftist who warns about the profits, and human costs, of war. E.Arnold is a war profiteer. C.Coburn is a scientist (medicine?) The view at the hotel, looking down on an airport, is the most memorable thing after CG's dancing. J.Schildkraut plays an officer of the aggressive country (I don't think the nationality was identified.)
Shearer's character overacts so much that it's tiresome. NB: it's not MS who is overacting, it's the character she plays. Speaking of vaselined lens and bright white lights (Paris Honeymoon '38), MS (b. 1902) gets that on closeup too. Recall, husband Irving Thalberg died 9'36; this is only her 2nd film since then. (I'm assuming it was an actual love match. Their children were born '30 & '35.) She has 58 credits (1920-42) and made only 4 more films after this. (She retired after marrying again.)
I suspect my prior rating was made when I was studying WW2, and I found this informative about what it might be like to be caught up in such events. It's good that way.
MGM, dir. Brown; 7-
